


Iris (I just want you to know who I am)

by SammiPheonex



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: A Year in Lydia's Life, Accidental Brother Aquisition, Author Is Sleep Deprived, BAMF Lydia Martin, Christmas Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Good Theo Raeken, Halloween Costumes, Implied Sexual Content, Liam Dunbar is Theo Raeken's Anchor, No Smut, Other, POV Lydia Martin, Phone Calls & Telephones, Theo Raeken Can Cook, Theo Raeken Needs a Hug, Theo Raeken is Liam Dunbar's Anchor, Theo Raeken is a Little Shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 22:41:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29516880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SammiPheonex/pseuds/SammiPheonex
Summary: Lydia watches Theo and Liam fall in love and she gains two little brothers in the process.----“How did you plan all this?” Stiles asked her, confused.Lydia smiled, “I couldn't have done it without Theo’s help.”She watched as Theo smiled, a tiny little smile that was not meant to be seen by anyone. Yet Lydia saw the small smile, the small bit of Theo’s humanity. It made her feel special.
Relationships: Corey Bryant/Mason Hewitt, Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken, Lydia Martin/Stiles Stilinski, Scott McCall/Malia Tate
Comments: 7
Kudos: 58





	Iris (I just want you to know who I am)

**Author's Note:**

> Title name form the song Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls

Theo didn’t talk much. Lydia knew that, Scott knew that, Stiles knew that, everyone knew that. Liam didn’t know that. 

Liam and Theo talked all the time. Their conversation consisted of things that Lydia wasn’t privy to. 

So Lydia liked to watch the two snap at each other, getting close to revealing their feelings and then pulling back again. She almost felt the need to push them together and scream, “You like each other, get over it!” But that wouldn't help, it would only make things worse. 

MIT was a dream of hers for as long as she could remember. 

Leaving Beacon Hills had been a dream once, but now it was more of a nightmare. Lydia couldn't fathom leaving, but she had gotten into MIT and wanted to go so badly. Stiles tried to convince her to go, but she could see that he didn't want to leave either, the same with Scott.

Liam and Theo were the ones who changed her mind. 

It was late one night. The Pack were hunkered up in tents on the Preserve, Scott wanting to try real camping before college (because camping in the middle of Mexico for life or death reasons doesn’t count, Stiles).

Everyone was asleep, except for Lydia, and, as she found out, Theo and Liam.

A quiet voice spoke into the darkness, sure that everyone else was asleep, “Hey, Theo?”

“Yeah?” 

“Do you think Scott, Stiles and Lydia leaving for college is going to change anything?” Liam’s voice wondered, the query floating up into the air to become one with the stars.

There was a moment of silence before Theo responded, “Maybe, but I don't think it’ll be a bad change.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I mean that even if they're gone you’ll still protect Beacon Hills.” Theo’s voice floated through her ears, “I mean, someone’s gotta.” 

Liam responded quickly, “Good point.” 

“I only have good points,” Theo boasted, a lightness entering his voice as he joked around.

She could hear the eye-roll Liam sent in Theo’s direction, “Keep thinking that, asshole.”

It quieted down soon, and Lydia fell asleep fitfully dreaming of the future.

The next day, Lydia made her decision and signed up for classes. She was going to destroy the whole math department with her knowledge and then Stiles would have to admit she was smarter than him. Beacon Hills would be in good hands.

Massachusetts was nice, beautiful even, with thousands of brilliant students and teachers to test her intellect. Lydia missed her pack though, she yearned for Stiles and Scott, for Malia and Liam, and even for Theo, a bit. Mason called her every week, updating her on life back in Beacon Hills. Lydia never forgot to ask about Theo, if he was doing ok and if anyone had seen him recently, how he was doing in school. Mason never failed to respond with, “I don't know, let me ask Liam.” 

Liam always had an answer.

Halloween rolled around and, because the veil between the living and dead was so thin, Lydia couldn't stop seeing spectres. It was almost impossible to tell if someone was real or not, and it drove her batty. How was she supposed to make new friends if half of the people around her weren't even alive anymore?

On All Hallows Eve she called Stiles, who reassured her that he was, in fact, real and that, if she wanted, he could drive from Virginia to see her in person. Lydia declined, feeling a bit foolish. She didn't need Stiles missing classes for her.

Halloween night, Lydia holed up in her room and Skyped with the remaining pack members in Beacons Hills. They had gathered in the McCall household, even though Scott wasn't there Melissa opened her house to any pack member who wanted to stay. 

Stiles and Scott would be joining from their respective schools and Malia from Paris. 

Lydia opened the call and automatically laughed at the scene she had popped in on.

Though Scott had said that they didn't need to dress up, they all had. Mason and Corey were dressed as flappers, though the outfits were not historically accurate at all, Nolan was dressed as a dinosaur (probably a pterodactyl, if the wings were anything to go by), Alec was dressed as Edward Scissor-hands, and Theo and Liam were dressed as Morticia and Gomez Addams, respectively. Stiles was wearing a green top hat and an orange shirt (carrot). Scott was dressed in all brown (peanut butter) and Malia showed up in all purple (jelly). Lydia herself had put on a pair of false glasses and braided her hair to look like a stereotypical nerd. She even figured out how to make false braces, by sticking the backs of earrings onto a rubber band and wrapping it around her teeth; when she was 10 Lydia had had braces for a month, they were much more uncomfortable than the rubber band. 

The scene she dropped in on was a strangely familiar one. Mason, Theo, Corey, Alec and Liam were play-fighting for control of the computer. Malia was telling Alec to, “Bite them, bite them all!”

Scott and Stiles looked on with fond looks. Lydia guffawed and tried not to spill her small bowl of popcorn all over the bed. Luckily she was muted, unlike Malia and the boys. Their yelling almost made her headphones crackle as she continued to giggle. 

Lydia watched as Theo got Liam in a headlock and Liam laughed as he tried to throw the other boy off of him. She couldn't help but smile at their strange form of flirting. It wasn't anything she hadn't seen before. 

Once Scott got the boys to settle down, they began to watch Pet Sematary. Except, as they realized, almost a half-an-hour in, the movie was horrendously boring to the people who battle supernatural creatures on the daily. 

So they decided to watch some shitty childhood cartoons. Lydia watched as Theo and Liam whispered to each other, though she couldn't hear them, she knew they were having fun. 

Later Lydia learned they were talking about who, of their group would be Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable. According to the two Lydia was the perfect Kim and Stiles was a great Ron Stoppable, though Stiles was a fair bit smarter than the average cartoon character. 

For Thanksgiving, the students were let out on a break. Lydia had a flight booked back to Beacon Hills at the click of her fingers. She made sure that her mother was expecting her, but also that the Pack had no idea she was coming. Lydia had told Stiles that MIT wasn’t letting her go home, that she was too smart for breaks. Obviously, he didn't believe her. Stiles was too smart to believe Lydia’s lies. 

The aeroplane touched down at 11:21 am and her mother picked her up. They drove to the house and Lydia waited for the call from Theo, whom she had asked to tell her when the whole pack was there. 

The call came at about 5 pm. 

“Hey, is everyone there?”

Theo responded quickly, _“Yeah.”_

“Ok, thanks, Theo.” Lydia smiled, then hung up. 

She drove over and waited for the right time to announce herself. 

“Has anyone heard from Lydia?” Liam asked the group.

Theo sighed, “I don't know. Why would she call me?” 

“She said she won't be able to make it,” Stiles told the group.

Lydia walked in, “And why did you believe me?”

Scott smiled and ran over, “Lydia!” 

Stiles ran to kiss his girlfriend. Lydia reciprocated quickly.

“How did you plan all this?” Stiles asked her, confused.

Lydia smiled, “I couldn't have done it without Theo’s help.”

She watched as Theo smiled, a tiny little smile that was not meant to be seen by anyone. Yet Lydia saw the small smile, the small bit of Theo’s humanity. It made her feel special. 

Thanksgiving was fun, at some point, after food, they played a game of charades. Lydia was an expert at charades. 

Her dad had wanted her to be a rich socialite and host parties, parties where people wanted to play games. Specifically, party games, more specifically charades. The point being that Lydia rocks at charades, Stiles’ words, not her own.

Theo didn't understand charades, and Lydia watched as Liam explained it to the chimera.

“So, I’ll act out something and you try to guess what it is,” Liam whispered to Theo who rolled his eyes, but ended up having fun.

Lydia smiled at their interaction. She couldn't have explained it better (she could have, but not to Theo). 

Not to sound cliched, but they made a good team. 

Lydia was back at MIT, she had less than a month before finals and was beginning to stress. She had made a few new friends and she wanted to spend time with them, though not the same kind of time as she would spend with her pack. 

Helena, her roommate, invited Lydia to a party. Though Lydia had been to thousands of house parties before, she had never been to a college party and she wasn't sure she wanted to. The last real party she had been to didn't end well.

Lydia had to study for finals, which were in a week, she didn't have time for a party. A call from Liam changed her mind.

_“Hey Lydia, what are you doing this afternoon?”_ Liam asked her over the phone.

She was confused, “I was going to study for finals, but I can put that off if you need me?”

_“I was wondering if you would talk with Alec.”_

“About what?” Lydia asked.

Liam sighed, _“I don't think he understands emotions and stuff. I mean, from what he’s said, he didn't have a good childhood.”_

“You've explained emotions to Theo before, right?”

_“Uh, th-that was different,”_ Liam stuttered out. _“Theo’s different.”_

Lydia smiled, glad he had recognized it. “Look, as thrilling and awaited that revelation was, I can't do it. I have plans for tonight.”

_“What?”_ Liam asked. _“You said you didn't?”_

“My roommate invited me to a party,” Lydia said as if she had just remembered.

_“Oh.”_

The party was fine, a bit boring though, since nobody was attacked and she didn't know many people. Lydia spent most of the time drinking and hanging on the outskirts of the room. 

Luckily she was able to get a ride back to her dorm room, sloshed as she was. She got a text right as she was pulling one of Stiles’ t-shirts over her head to sleep in.

Lilwolfy-Screescreebitch

Lilwolfy: alec is kind of hopeless at feelings

Screescreebitch: k kool

Screescreebitch: u r 2 yho

Lilwolfy: are you drunk?

Screescreebitch: yeeeewep

Lilwolfy: go to sleep lydia

Screescreebitch: k tel theo nught formee

Lilwolfy: wdym?

Screescreebitch: i know hed wih u

Screescreebitch: hes always wh you

Lilwolfy: night Lydia

Sreescreebitch: nighr

Finals were hard, but not impossible, nothing was impossible for Lydia Camille Martin. Christmas break started December 16th, Lydia spent a few days in her dorm, before her flight back home.

Stiles wouldn't be back in Beacon Hills until the 20th, so Lydia had some time to kill. She hung out with Malia for a bit. The were-coyote had been supervising the younger pack members since she got back from France. 

At some point Malia had to work with Alec, apparently, she was teaching him how to fight if he ever needed to. Anyway, Lydia had some time to kill, so she marched into the woods to find Theo.

“Hey, Theo.” Lydia waved to the chimera.

Theo looked up as if he had been caught. Both he and Liam were sitting in the snow, their jeans soaked with the snow’s moisture. “Hi, Lydia.”

“What are you guys doing?” She asked.

Theo looked sheepish, “playing in the snow.”

Lydia smiled, forming a snowball to nail Liam in the head. 

“Hey!” Liam yelled, before trying to bean her with a huge ball of snow. 

The ensuing snowball fight was crazy, with the boys using their wolfy powers and Lydia trying to keep the snow out of her shoes. Eventually, they got tired. The throwing of the snow became sadder and sadder looking. At a certain point, the three were just sitting in the snow, throwing handfuls of the white stuff at each other.

They looked around, noticing the sky getting dark. “We should head back to Scott’s,” Lydia mused, the voice of reason.

“Probably,” Liam muttered. 

Theo stood up, brushing the snow off his pants, “Come on.” He helped Liam up, leaving Lydia to scrabble up, walking back to Scott’s as her feet swam in cold water. 

They helped each other walk back, Lydia waiting for her feet to stop feeling numb. “Do you need help?” Theo asked her.

She smiled, and let him carry her, bridal style, back to Scott’s place.

Christmas break was nice, Lydia spent a lot of time with her boyfriend. They hung out with the pack and thwarted a couple of dangerous things. 

Lydia loved the feeling of adrenaline rushing through her veins as she fought for her pack. It sucked that they were so used to these types of predicaments, but Lydia hated to think what her life would have been like without the supernatural elements.

One morning, she walked downstairs, the whole pack having slept over at Scott’s place. She was going to make breakfast for everyone, maybe eggs, or oatmeal, but Theo and Liam were already there.

“You don’t know how to cook, though,” Theo said watching as Liam pulled eggs out of the fridge. 

Liam giggled, taking out a small pan to fry, “That time doesn’t count, you distracted me!” 

Lydia smiled from her position, leaning on the stair bannister, her slippers keeping her feet warm as she watched the two boys goof off. They would make such a cute couple if they got their heads out of their asses and confessed that they liked each other. 

“Ew, holy fuck Liam!” She looked over and Theo had a bite of egg falling out of his mouth.

“Rude!”

Theo sighed, spitting the food onto his plate, “This is raw. How did you even flip it?”

“Very carefully, dickhead.”

Lydia knew for a fact that Liam couldn't cook, but that Theo made really good pancakes. She walked into the kitchen, “May I request Theo’s famous pancakes?”

Theo smiled, “Anything for our resident genius.”

Theo’s pancakes are heavenly. Lydia would kill someone for those pancakes, luckily they cleaned up all evidence of food before Scott and Alec woke up to devour the entire kitchen. 

Lydia had to return to MIT and leave her pack back in Beacon Hills. Monroe was killed by Malia and Alec, who had taken the role of pack protectors a bit too seriously. Scott was pissed off for a while but ultimately admitted that it needed to be done. Monroe was going after every supernatural in a global pursuit of power and people were going to be hurt if Malia and Alec hadn’t removed Monroe from existence. 

Valentine’s day came faster then Lydia could have anticipated. She let Helena know that she was driving to Quantico to spend the day with her boyfriend, and her roommate reminded her to be back for classes that Monday.

On the drive down to Quantico Lydia got a call from Theo.

“Hey, Theo. I’m in the car, but what do you need?” Her phone was connected to her speaker so Lydia was still driving safe.

_“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”_

“You aren’t interrupting anything,” Lydia reassured him. “ What do you need?”

_“Well, I just wanted to know what you were going to do for Valentine’s day?”_

Lydia smirked, “Are you making plans with anyone?”

_“NO! Um- no, I’m not. I just wanted to know what you do for Valentine’s day?”_ Theo’s voice sounded shaky. He was definitely lying. 

“Well, I’m going to surprise Stiles at his school. We might go out to dinner or stay in and watch movies, it all depends.”

_“Depends on what?”_

“Whatever Stiles agrees to do with me.”

_“So it depends on what the other person wants?”_

Lydia nodded, “Yeah.”

_“But how do I know what they want to do?”_

“You ask. You’re not a mind reader.” 

_“Thank you, Lydia. You’re a good friend.”_

“Yeah, have fun with Liam!” 

_“It’s not Li-”_ She wasn’t going to listen to his bullshit.

Her and Stiles watched a couple of romcoms because they both loved the **Notebook**. **50 First Dates** was Stiles’ favourite because… duh. Their whole story was so similar to the one from the movie. 

“So, what do you think about Theo and Liam?” Lydia asked.

Stiles spluttered, “What about Theo and Liam?”

Lydia rolled over, placing her head on his bare chest, “They obviously like each other, but they’re too stubborn to admit it.” 

“Wait, what?”

“Theo called me and asked me what we were doing for Valentine’s day,” she told her boyfriend. “He’s obviously going to ask Liam out.”

“What do you mean?”

Lydia rolled her eyes, “You’re not dumb, Stiles. They’re in love, it’s obvious to literally everyone.” 

Stiles wrapped his arms around her, “Why are you so obsessed with their happiness?”

“I remember when I was more obsessed with popularity then love or family. I don’t want Theo or Liam to have to go through that awful feeling that no one loves them or that no one cares about them.”

Stiles tightened his arms, engulfing her in the warmth of love and family. “I hate knowing you felt like that.”

“I hate knowing there was a time when you felt like that too, and that it was my fault.”

“It wasn’t your fault, you can’t blame yourself for not knowing yourself yet,” Stiles told her.

Lydia sighed, “But I do.”

She headed back to MIT the next day. On the way, Lydia got a call.

“Hello?”

_“Lydia, it’s Liam. I have an emergency.”_

She jerked her head to the side, “An EMERGENCY, or an emergency?”

_“An emergency. I think Theo likes me.”_

Lydia sighed, “Yeah, he does. What’s your point?”

_“Wait, so he does like me?”_

“Yeah? It’s not rocket science, Liam. The guy likes you!” Lydia said, giggling.

_“Oh fuck.”_

“Wait. That is not a good tone of voice. What did you do?”

_“I may have thought he was trying to manipulate me again and threw him out.”_

Lydia gripped the steering wheel tight, “That is an ‘Oh fuck,’ situation. You need to find him. He’s still a kid, he can’t live in his car again.”

_“I know! I know, Lydia. I’ll find him.”_

“You better,” Lydia threatened. “You love him and he loves you. Make sure he knows that.”

_“Ly-”_ She hung up on him and drove with reckless abandon. She could help more with her laptop at MIT.

Lydia ran to her dorm, her backpack in her hand. She grabbed her phone and called Theo. He didn’t pick up. She called again and again, with no response. He never picked up. 

Lydia then called Liam, who picked up the first ring. “Have you found him?”

_“Yeah he’s with me.”_

“Theo? Are you okay?” Lydia tried not to scream through the microphone.

A muffled, ‘I’m fine, Lydia.’ Echoed through the phone. 

“Okay,” she sighed out in relief. “Call me when you two kiss and make up.” She hung up and collapsed on her bed. 

It had been a rough day and by the time Helena arrived back to the room, Lydia was asleep on the bed while her phone rang on the counter. 

Apparently, Liam and Theo had kissed and made up.

Summer rolled around quickly and Lydia took a plane back to Beacon Hills. She stayed with Stiles, with the occasional sleepover at Scott’s with the pack. Theo and Liam spent most of the summer romping through the woods.

One Sunday night Lydia was sitting on the back porch of Stiles’ house. She thought about the past year. No life-threatening injuries or world-ending drama. 

“Thanks, Lydia.” A voice said from behind her. She turned to see Theo and Liam with their hands entangled.

“For what?”

Liam let go of Theo’s hand and walked towards her, “Without you, we would have never realized that we liked each other. We would still be running around, oblivious.” 

“I thought that was what you were doing?” Lydia joked before her face fell. “I was just trying to make sure you guys got the happy ending you deserved.” 

“I never thought I deserved anything but the Dread Doctors,” Theo whispered. “Now I know that I never deserved that. It’s thanks to you and Liam that I know this-” he gestured to Liam and Lydia, “is what I deserve.” 

“It is,” Lydia declared firmly. “Did you know that, throughout the past year, I’ve kinda come to see you as my brothers?”

They both looked confused as Theo said, “no?”

“Well, I have. I was hoping you two would be cool with me becoming your unofficial big sister?” she asked carefully. Lydia knew that Theo had hangups about family and love and such, so she tried to be calm about her suggestion.

Theo smiled, softly, “It’s okay. You’ve been a good big sister.” 

Lydia’s heart might have given out at the tiny soft smile Theo just gave her.

“You can totally be my big sister too.” Liam’s arms wrapped around her shoulders, as Theo patted her head, still not used to showing physical affection. 

Lydia smiled before realizing, “What are you guys doing out at 10 pm on a Sunday? You have school tomorrow!”

“It’s summer? There’s no school?”

“Shut up.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys like this. I was just rewatching the last season of teen wolf and... the thought of Lydia being the pack big sister appeared in my head and now it lives there full time. Also, like... Theo and Liam being each other's anchors make me so fucking soft. 
> 
> Anyway, let me know if you like this. 
> 
> Sammi


End file.
